Yeah, you older, original members are that influential.


Bullies. lol

 

The Reduced gets a panning on pretty much every forum.

 

Yep, it was getting bashed on TZ many moons ago.

 

Why, ya got one @citizenrich?

 

Somehow, I managed to avoid a reduced. Mostly, probably because of this msg bored /hat tip - thanks fellas.


Frankly, I knew little about Omega when I registered on OF.

I wish I listened to the bullies a little more than I did. I would have bought a few fistfulls of 2998's.

I did however purchase some gems ( rare speedy pro, a bunch of uncommon sea masters and the like)
all at the direction of the "bullies". Thank you, guys. Seriously. This forum saved me from all of the Omega traps.

 

I have one and I like it.

And I don’t care what the interweb thinks!

 

I visited a posh watch shop and gave one of these benefit of the doubt for about 3 minutes. I tried to convince myself that it looked OK on my wrist... just a bit "reduced"???

I then put it on the table next to my vintage 1960's Speedmaster. They looked like a, handsome, married couple! .... and the "reduced" was Mrs Speedy.

 

Same here!

 

To be honest if you like them then bag one and enjoy. Why care what someone thinks who means nothing to you?

 

"size" isn't everything......

 

That's not what she said...

 

I had one long before I joined OF - I bought it when my Brosnan SM300 was away for about 9 months getting serviced (yes, I didn’t realize you could get watches serviced by people other than Rolex, Omega etc) .

I hated it. The worst bit was the feeling of the rotor lolloping and wheezing around like it was unhinged. And it looked small. Some of the designs are actually quite nice - it’s just that overall it’s an inferior watch.

Luckily I bought it for $500, shoved it in a drawer for 5 years, and sold it for $1800!

 

I don't mind their looks(well I am a skinny wrist folk) but know they have their issues and are tricky to service. I'm already paying the price for picking up an Ultronic Chrono which has been away for months since receiving it so I've learned that lesson once too many times already.

 

I bought one for my girlfriend two years ago. Looks really cool on her wrist. She does not understand why you should wind a speedmaster. Even after years of explaining.

 

I've seen people buy them cheap, and they weren't aware that people often sell them when they are in need of service., I've also seen people buy them thinking it was a regular Speedmaster.

I've never tried to convince someone not to buy one that I can remember. I just want people to be aware of what they are buying, and that the service options will be more limited.
​

Knowledge is not a bad thing in my world...

 

I bought from a Japanese seller on eBay one about 8 years ago (what happened to jmryshi?), and I think it's the only watch I've ever flipped immediately. I liked the idea of it, and the size, but disliked it in-person. I should have taken the forum's advice.

 

It's always caught in the shadow of its big brother, the regular Speedmaster.
But I am glad I got one, and it will always have a place in my collection.

 

With regards to the original post - the world is much larger than this forum. Although it gets bashed here, its very popular in wider circles. Almost 1 out of 5 watches sold in my store are of the 3510.50 Reduced (not even including 3539.50, and other variants) - ie hundreds every year. I also think the service costs are a bit over exaggerated. Costs the same for my CW21 watchmaker to service one vs a Moonwatch. And frankly, a lot of regular folk like the look but don't want to manually wind a Moonwatch every day.

 

I have one on the way from Japan.

Reasons? Primarily the size. I prefer "vintage" sizing. The convenience of an auto is nice as well. Do I see myself wanting the Professional any time soon? Not really. Although I own at least a dozen books on Apollo missions and another dozen on space exploration. It would be nice to own THE moon watch, I can afford it, but I just don't see myself wearing it comfortably.
The reduced is inspired by the moon watch. It isn't a moon watch and that is okay with me, but the design is something I like and I have no issue with the sub dials spacing. I like it for what it is and not bothered by what it isn't.
I also understand the service costs. The maintenance may not be proportional with the price I paid. Just like buying a depreciated 15 year old German luxury car, you will have to pay those German luxury car maintenance costs regardless of the price you paid. However, I have no problem paying those costs for a reduced. Omega has $750 USD listed on their site for a mechanical chrono servicing, okay.